Oh Christmas Tree
by blakes8th
Summary: A little Christmas story for the season of goodwill. Nothing Shippy.


Oh Christmas Tree

Disclaimer: New Tricks is the sole property of the BBC, but if they're not going to play nicely, I'm going to have to confiscate it.

Rating: K.

No pairings, just some seasonal fluff.

"Oh not bloody 'secret Santa' again!" Sandra looked up and smiled as she heard Jack grumbling. She had never been one for Christmas cheer herself, but besides Jack she was positively festive, he could give old Scrooge a run for his money.

"Alright Ebaneezer!" Gerry grinned, as he placed a gold star in front of his co-worker. "Keep your shirt on."

"Humbug!" Jack retorted picking up the star and reading it. He frowned.

"What's this?" Brian asked as he read the name on his star. Sandra took the star Gerry held out for her. She read it.

"Emma, aged 11. What..."

"Look, it's a bit different this year. Usually, everybody dreads secret Santa, somebody has to get stuff for the big bosses, which is really difficult, and the higher up's don't know half of the people whose name they draw. So this year we're taking a lesson from the Yanks."

"What's that?" Brian quizzed. "And who is 'Jonathan aged 6'?"

"If you'd let me finish, I'll explain!" Gerry huffed.

"Welcome to my world." Sandra interrupted. "Sorry." She grinned at Gerry's exasperated look.

"Did you all see the second tree in the lobby, covered in all these stars? Yes." He didn't give them time to interrupt again. "Good. Well, these are all children in the area who for one reason or another will be spending this Christmas in the hospital, or the local foster care home. The rules are the same, you spend no more than a tenner, give or take. But instead of another pair of silly socks, or bottles of cheap plonk nobody wants, some little kid, who's in for a pretty miserable time, gets a nice surprise present for Christmas." He held his hands out, "Who can argue with that."

"I think that's a lovely idea." Sandra smiled.

"What do I get a six year old boy?" Brian asked, bemused.

"Easy. Lego, or a remote control car." Gerry smiled.

"I've got 'Tom aged 4'" Jack said, squinting at the card.

"Four year old boy. Something with dinosaurs." Gerry told him.

"I'll write that down." Jack started scrabbling for a pen.

"Why do you need to write it down, surely you could call on your memories of that time." Gerry quipped, making the others laugh.

"Oh very funny!" Jack countered, though he couldn't keep from smiling.

"Well, I know what I'm going to get for Emma. I was shopping the other day and saw a fantastic little nail art set for girls, I know I'd have loved that when I was eleven." Sandra smiled. "Who came up with the idea?"

"One of the WPC's her sister lives in the states, she told her about it."

"What happens to the stars that are left?" Brian asked.

"Oh I don't think that will be a problem. The rate people were taking them off. That's why I grabbed yours for you."

"Thanks. Now let's get some work done..."

/

The following couple of weeks had flown by. The big decorated box by the tree had filled with brightly coloured presents, ready to be taken out and delivered on Christmas eve by several volunteers. But as the deadline had grown closer, Sandra had noticed that there were still stars on the tree. She herself had taken a second one as had all the boys in her office, and several other people she knew of.

So she found herself lingering in the lobby, just out of sight on the day before deadline day, waiting for the lobby to become deserted for just long enough to take some more stars. She had looked at the names and there were seven left, all aged fourteen or fifteen. She could understand why they were still there, it was hard enough buying for a teenager you knew, it was nearly impossible to buy for one you had never met before.

But she couldn't stand the idea of these children being left out, even a box of chocolates would be better than nothing at all. She glanced around, and was about to step out of hiding when she heard footsteps. She felt a bit silly hiding, but she didn't want anyone to know about her plan, she just wanted to do the right thing quietly, without fuss.

She saw her boss, Robert Strickland walking across the foyet, pulling on his gloves, carrying his briefcase. As he drew near the tree, he stopped and looked around. He quickly plucked all the remaining stars from the tree and headed towards the door. Sandra blinked a couple of times, slightly caught off guard, Rob Strickland was not renowned for his generosity. She hurried after him, spotting him as he was about to get into his car.

"Sir!" She called out. He stopped as she approached.

"Everything all right Sandra?" He frowned as she jogged in her high heels to catch him up. Sandra suddenly felt a little foolish, why had she chased after him? She took a deep breath.

"Sir, I saw you take the last of the stars off the tree..." She let her voice filter off, hoping he would respond.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Have you not had one yet?" He put his hand in his pocket to retrieve the stars.

"Well, yes. Two actually. So have the boys. But I was going to take another couple..." She shrugged. He smiled shyly at her.

"You couldn't bare to see them left behind either." It was only half a question. She shook her head.

"Have you done one already?" She asked. He nodded.

"Three."

"Three! Yet you were going to take all these as well?" She couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. He shrugged.

"Since I don't have any contact with my two, I don't have anyone else to spend my money on." He replied sadly. Sandra felt herself welling up, she knew the divorce had been a bitter one, and that his ex had taken his children abroad. She also knew that he was having to take her to court to get access to see them, but it was a slow process. She gently patted his arm.

"You'll get to see them again." She said softly. He nodded.

"Christmas is the worst time, It's no time for anyone to be alone." He muttered. She wasn't sure how to respond, she had never seen him so open before.

"Is that why you've taken the stars, because these kids feel alone?" She asked. He shrugged, sighing he leaned against his car.

"I know what you all think of me. I know everybody thinks I'm a rich, stuck up graduate of the public school type. Silver spoon and all the trimmings."

"Sir, we don't..."

"Yes, you do. And to an extent you would be right. My mother died when I was four, My step-father didn't want me, so I was packed off to my Grandfather's, which was fine by me. I loved the old man, and he loved me. But he died two years later. He left the family money in trust to me, so I was packed off to boarding school which was pretty much where I grew up. I know how it feels to have no-one who cares. No child should feel that, especially at Christmas." He looked up at the stars, his breath making small clouds in the cold evening air. Sandra felt a warm tear run down her cold cheek.

"I'm sorry, I never knew." She whispered. He smiled softly.

"It's ok. As I said, everybody has their own opinion of me. One thing I learned from that school was to keep your weaknesses hidden. If people know what hurts you, they'll use it against you."

"I won't."

"I know, that's why I told you." He smiled. "Anyway, I had better get going or the shop will be shut." He scrabbled with his keys, his face flushing scarlet.

"You know what you're getting then?" She asked. He nodded.

"The first star I got was for a fourteen year old girl. I was stumped until I went into the little independent music shop just down the street from my house. They had these little mp3 players, not top of the range or anything, but decent. They were fifteen pounds, so I got one and asked Matt, who runs the shop what kind of music a teenage girl might like. When I told him about the tree, he loaded the player for me. I went in yesterday to see if he had any of the players left, and when he heard about the remaining stars, he said I can have the players for ten pounds each, and he'll load a range of current music onto them. I phoned him earlier and he's done some already."

"That's a fantastic idea. Better than the chocolates I had planned. And it's really kind of him to help out. And It's kind of you to do this." He blushed.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it to yourself. We don't want to ruin that image I've worked so hard for." He smiled sheepishly, she laughed.

"My lips are sealed." She started to walk away, before turning back to him. "Sir!"

"Mmmm" He stopped midway into his car.

"You're not alone. Not while I'm only a phone call away. Please remember that." She told him. He smiled shyly.

"Thank you." He replied, before getting into the car and driving off. Sandra smiled and looked up at the stars, she noticed a few fine flakes of snow floating in the cold air. She suddenly felt the need to go out and buy a Christmas tree to decorate her very un-festive flat, and maybe a few festive treats.

"Maybe I could have a few friends around on Christmas day." She said to herself. One new friend sticking firmly in her mind. She got into her car and drove off in the direction of the shops.

If she had looked in her mirror, she'd have seen three men step out of the shadows, watching her car drive away.

"Well. Who'd 'ave thought it." Brian muttered.

"Does anybody else feel really guilty right now?" Gerry asked. Jack nodded.

"Not such a pompous prick after all." He agreed.

"So what are we going to do?" Brian quizzed. Gerry grinned.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I always like a matchmaker at Christmas."

The other two men grinned.

"Shall we convene in the pub? Talk over a plan of action." Gerry suggested. They set out in the direction of their local.

"Out of interest, what flavour are you?" Brian asked. Gerry looked at him confused.

"Eh?"

"Matchmaker. Orange or mint?"

"Oh, definitely orange."

"I'm a mint man myself."

"I always preferred the coffee." Jack added. Gerry and Brian both stared at him. "What?"

"Is that it? Is that why your always so miserable at Christmas, 'cause they stopped making coffee matchmakers?" Gerry muttered.

"No, It finished Christmas for me when they stopped showing a Bond movie in the afternoon. Bloody X factor, and Britain's talentless.." Jack muttered, pushing open the door of the pub. "Nothing decent on the box on Christmas day now. I ended up watching bloody Wallace and Gromit last year.." He was still moaning as he entered. Brian grinned at Gerry. And they laughed as they entered the warm pub, following their colleague, leaving the newly deposited snow to fill in their footsteps.

/

Just a little festive story. I've been really struggling to write this last month, but I promise to post some more soon. Sarah. xxx


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